The envoy from Yuan is going to demand that King Gongmin give Eunsoo to Yuan. Choi Young is going to pre-empt their scheme by just vanishing with his beloved doctor. Somebody new wants to kidnap her every week, and he's finally caught on to that fact.

Gotta Be Tough Watching Your Sweetheart Be Used As a Bargaing Chip All The Time.

In the King's stateroom, the envoy from Yuan says some very complex things about Yuan wanting to dissolve Goryeo. War might be imminent. In order to appease Yuan, the King is supposed to execute Eunsoo--I don't even follow the envoy's logic on this one at all.

Anyhoo, This Guy Wants to Kill Eunsoo.

Choi Young had sent Eunsoo away with a friend of his, but he soon leaves the palace to join her because it's still a couple of weeks until the heaven's gate opens, which is the portal that will allow her to return to the future. During these weeks, she'll need protection, since an enemy nation is determined to kill her. But even if this part of the plot goes nowhere ultimately, I'm glad to have picturesque shots of our main couple running away through the forest.

This Is The "Resting" Phase of Running Away.

Oh, right, and Eunsoo's still poisoned. She has to get an antidote from D, or her arm will probably fall off before she goes back to the future, but she downplays the advance of the poison.

Gicheol is quite unhappy that Eunsoo is gone, because he wanted her to show him the heaven's gate. Also, Gicheol's ice powers (which we have seen all of three times) are malfunctioning more than usual.

Choi Young and Eunsoo go to an inn to have dinner, and they are, of course, attacked. Choi Young is smashing chairs over heads, and Eunsoo is helping a bit, too! From one of the defeated foes, they picked up what is essentially a Wanted poster, where Gicheol has offered a reward for Eunsoo's return.

It Even Includes Primitive Mugshots of Them.

In the palace, we hear that the Queen is expecting a baby, now. Wonderful! The King and Queen are darling people and I'd enjoy their scenes more if this drama weren't so belabored and protracted.

For our runaways, there is more fighting and more running away. Eunsoo begs Choi Young to let her teach him something in exchange for all his horse-riding and dagger-fighting lessons, and it ends up that the only thing she can teach him is a little cheer of encouragement she uses to psych herself up.

If She Gets Any Cuter, The Screen Will Explode.

She proceeds to teach Choi Young "pinky promise" and "high five," and I die of the sheer level of adorability. How can a show that's so serious and draggy have such sweetness in it? Toward the end of the episode, Eunsoo stumbles across a plastic container hidden under a random rock in the woods. Inside this container, there are a few more pages of her future diary.

This Again?

The note says they should turn around and go back to the palace, to save the King and Queen. They argue, then go back, with some fights along the way. At the palace, the Queen is missing and King Gongmin is falling apart. I wish I could immerse myself in this story again, if only to appreciate the struggle of this young king deciding how to protect his much-loved queen.

It Would Be A Very Powerful Storyline Elsewhere.

Choi Young gets back to the palace in time to rally the King's utterly destroyed spirits. Eunsoo tries to bargain with D, who is suspected of kidnapping the queen. King Gongmin has a meeting with the Yuan envoy where he refuses to execute Eunsoo, like they want.

Elsewhere, Choi Young saved the kidnapped and drugged Queen just before a minion is about to poison her to death.

Because of the drugs, the Queen loses the baby, but it's still good to have her preserved alive. Now everyone is back in the palace and the immediate threats are over. Choi Young and Eunsoo talk over how to get her to the heaven's gate--instead of running again, they will stay in place until the exact day it opens. Eunsoo needs to stay extra safe, so she gets permission from the King to train as a Woldalchi warrior; armor, sword, and all! Heh. That's going to be delightful.

Episode Evaluations: Hmm. Did I watch these episodes, or just rewatch some old ones? Despite things like the Queen's pregnancy and kidnapping, I didn't feel like a single new thing happened. It's nice to see Eunsoo, Choi Young, the King and Queen, but I feel less like I'm watching a sequential show and more like I'm re-flipping back and forward through the same pages in a book.

2 comments:

As for the actual show and review, I've nothing to add. I still really enjoy this show, but it rarely makes me reach that point where I feel like, 'Ooh, I've just gotta say..' or, 'I'll bet ___ happens!' Know what I mean? Imo it's good but not great, and I'm somewhat invested instead of fully immersed.

All I can say at this point is that I've discovered that I love historical Korean outfits! Every once in a while I find myself wanting some character's shoes, dress, hair accessory, etc. I'll prob keep watching historical shows just for more old-world fashion info.. :p

Thank you! I'm trying to get more interactive, to work my way up to video blogging in a few months. :-)

I'm nuts for the fashion, too. Funny, because originally I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get through a whole sageuk show because the silly hats would distract me. Now I'm all about the hats and the robes!